Buying a home by the traditional route can be a bad investment, especially if the economy takes a downturn. Buy the right home, though, the right way, and you will find yourself building your wealth instantly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZBIgFJ8SdQ. At True Built Home, we work with you to create a home that will likely be worth more than you pay, even if economic conditions change. Take the road less traveled and make a good investment with a new, custom built home: http://truebuilthome.com/.

If you have a plot of land in Washington and are looking to build a home, True Built Home will most likely be able to help you out. Check if your land falls within our coverage area at: http://truebuilthome.com/coveragearea/.

For most people, your home is going to be one of the biggest contributors to your carbon footprint, but there are ways that you can significantly lessen its impact on the environment. An eco-friendly home and lifestyle will take some commitment, but if you take it one step at a time, it will all become second nature before you know it!

One of the easiest and most impactful things you can do to green your home is simply to seek out any traditional incandescent light bulbs and replace them with either CFL or LED lights. Both CFL and LED lights consume less energy and put out more light than incandescent lights, and while the initial price tag might be higher, you won’t be running to the store to buy more any time soon, as they have incredibly long lives.

Once you’ve replaced your light bulbs, it’s important to teach your children (and yourself) about the importance of turning them off every time you leave a room. This also goes for computers, televisions, and kitchen appliances as well. In fact, for these appliances, your best bet is to invest in some power cords. Appliances like these will continue to use up energy even when not in use, so connecting it to a power cord, then turning the power cord off whenever you turn off the appliance, is by far your best bet.

Another way to go about making your home environmentally sound is to focus on what and how you eat. The first step to greener eating habits is to buy in bulk from local farmers whenever possible. Buying in bulk reduces the amount of times you start up your car to shop, and buying local not only gets you fresher food, but you also avoid buying food that has been shipped across the country on planes.

If you can’t buy local, it’s still good to avoid foods processed in large factories. Do your research on a company before you go shopping, and make sure their practices are as environmentally safe as possible. Just because something claims to be organic doesn’t mean it’s necessarily eco-friendly.

Once you’ve bought and eaten your food, it’s time to dispose of the scraps responsibly. The best way to do this is to start a compost. Some foods, such as meat scraps, have to be thrown out in other ways, but vegetation can always be reused as compost. Not only will this keep your food out of trash dumps, but it will vastly improve your garden or lawn.

Another huge tip for saving the earth and saving your wallet is to pay close attention to your water consumption. Using too much water does more than hike your water bill up, it robs the land of a much needed resource and is a huge contributor to pollution. Take shorter showers, wash clothes in cold water, and teach your kids to turn off the tap when brushing their teeth.

At True Built Home, we see environmental stewardship as a duty, and always work with you to make it easy for you to live an environmentally friendly life. See our website for more on our commitment to building green homes, and while you’re there check out all of the options we offer for custom built homes: http://truebuilthome.com/.

If you are in the market for a home, be it your first or your fifth, it may not seem possible to build something new. It can be intimidating and, if you’re not careful, the cost can inflate quickly. If you work with a good contractor, however, and keep these steps in mind, building a new home may be within your price range.

When you take out your loan, make sure you keep in your mind the very real possibility of unexpected costs during construction. Instead of just taking out as much as you can at the beginning of the project, put in a contingent fund equal to 5-7% of the loan for emergency funds. This small foresight will save you headaches down the road.

Next, you want to find a focus point for your project. If you are building as a couple, make sure you sit down together to discuss this. When envisioning your new home, what aspect is most important to you? Is it the quality, the functionality, the investment? Pick one or two focus points to guide you through the process. This will give you confidence and keep you from losing track of what’s important as you go through the process.

Make sure when you enter into a deal with a builder that you understand how much money you are putting into the project in relation to other homes. You want to get the most for your money, but you also want to temper your expectations based on your price range. If you want a higher quality home than you can afford, you may want to consider downsizing. That way, you can afford to pay more per square foot.

When deciding if you can afford to build a new home, it’s helpful to know how much a loan officer will be willing to offer you. A great tool to give you a roundabout estimate is a loan calculator, but you need to know what to include to properly use this tool. Credit card and car payments, as well as any other debts you may be paying off, are what a loan officer will be most concerned about.

Once you decide to either build or buy a home, you will want to get a pre-approved loan. This will be crucial during the price negotiation phase.

After all is said and done, if you buy a new home, chances are your equity will be higher – much higher – than if you buy used. You may save money in the short run, but building new is a very profitable investment. Read more about how to buy a home, including links to a reliable loan calculator and more, at: http://truebuilthome.com/how-to-buy-a-home/.